Method of producing tubular articles from pulpous material



him 1927' c. H. FRANKS METHOD OF PRODUCING TUBULAR ARTICLES FROM PULPO US MATERIAL Filed Oct. '7, 1924 Patented June 14, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

oLEu n. FRANKS, or LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'ro wEs'rEn ELECTRIC com- PANY, INCORPORATED, or NEW YORK, N. 'Y.. A CORPORATION-F NEW YORK.

METHOD OF PRODUCING TUBULAR ARTICLES FROM PULPOUS MATERIAL.-

Application filed October 7, 1924. Serial No. 742,104.

This invention relates to a method of producingtubular articles from pulpous material, and particularly to insulating sleeves for electrical conductors and to a method of making such sleeves.

An object of the invention is toproduce improved tubular articles from pulpous material by a relatively inexpensive and simplified method.

In a specific embodiment of the invention,

' tubular insulating sleeves adapted to be placed upon electrical conductors and the like are produced by means of the improved method. To produce the insulating sleeves,

a ribbon of moist pulpis deposited upon and adapted to insulate a plurality of electrical conductors are produced by practicing-the improved method, the sleeves being formed by depositing a ribbon of moist pulp upon a plurality of flexible cores in strand form and wrapping the ribbon around the cores in such manner that it forms a common coat-' in therefor. The coating is then dried after w ich the coated cores are cut into sections of any desired length, each section consisting of two core pieces havin a common coating of pulpous materia. The core pieces of each section are withdrawn leaving,

in each instance, a sleeve having a plurality of assages therethrough. I ther features and objects of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description progresses, reference be-- wherein 1 is a perspective view of a tubular embodying one. form of the 1nvent1on;

ing had to the accompanying. drawings,

I Fig. 2 is a perspective viewof a section of a co're in strand formv coated with pulpous material which will constitute a tubular article identical with that shown in Fig. 1 when the core piece is withdrawn from the coating; I

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the manner in which pulpous material is applied to a single core in strand form;

Fig-7 is a side view" of. apparatus for coating a core in strand form with pulpous material; V r I Far. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7

Flg. 9 is a perspective view of a tubular article embodying'another form of the. in-

vention, and

Figs. 10,11, 12, and 13 illustrate the manner in which pulpous material is formed into a coating common to a plurality of cores in strand form.

Referring for the present to Fig. 1, 11 designates-an article embodyingone form of the invention and preferably formed of paper core in strand form. the core being subsequently withdrawn from the paper. However, the invention is limited to the use of paper only .in so far as indicated in the appended claims, as any suitable pul ous material may be employed to pro uce the article without departing from the spirit of the invention.

which has been partially fabricated upon a The paper from which the article 11 is .formed ispreferably applied to the aforementioned core by the method described in Patent 1,615,394 to J. S. Little,'issued January 25, 1927. .This method may be practiced by apparatus which is diagrammatically illustrated in'Figs. 7 and 8 and which is fully described in the above mentioned copend-ing application. Briefly, one end of they apparatus is termed the wet end thereof and is adalpted to subject a plurality of cores or stran s to liquidcontaming pulp in such manner that ribbons of wet pulp are deposited on the cores or strands. The apparatus then removes excess moisture from the wet pulp ribbons, forms them. into uniform cqatin s for the strands or cores,-and then dries t e coatings.

The wet end ot the apparatus comprises the foraminous tank 17 is supp iedwith liquid contaimng.

pulp from a'mixing'vat (notshown) by means (not shown) which insures a forced circulation between the vat and the tank through the foraminous portions 27,.

provedmethod, a plurality of. flexible cores 12 which are to be subjected to the'liquid containing pulp are withdrawn from. supply reels 65 and are guided by grooved rollers 70 to the foraminous portions 27. The

. drum 16 carries the cores through the liquid containingpulp and as the cores pass therethrough a rib on of wet pulp is applied to. each core. Some pulp is first strained through the foraminous portions of the drum before the cores 12 are brought into contact therewith. Then when the cores contact with the, initial layers'of pulp on the foraminous portions and the drum con: tinues to revolve in the tank, an .additional amount of pulp is deposited on each core.

As the cores 12 are withdrawn from the to each ribbon.

tank 17 the pulpous material deposited on the cores and on the foraminous portions of the drum adheres to the cores in the .form' of ribbons 73 which will appear substantially as shown in Fig. 3. A woven belt'75 aids in freeing the pulp ribbons from. thedrum 16, the belt 75 being held in contact with the drum by a felt covered roll 76 which co-acts with the belt and the drum to squeeze excess moisture from the ribbons and to impart the form illustrated in Fig. 4 The ribbons 7 3 and the cores 12 embedded in them then travel with the belt 75 and between it and a similar belt 79 to a plurality of forming mechanisms 90' adapted to wrap each ribbon 73 around itself'and the core embedded in it. The ribformed coating being shown in Fig. 6. The

coating 13 is dried in a housing 100 by means'adapted to subject the coating to air of predetermined temperature and predetermined relative h'umidity. The coated cores, thoroughly dried, are wound upon take-up spools 109 which are driven by any suitle means (not shown).

In the next step of the improved method the coated cores are cut into suitable lengths orsections, one of which is shown in Fig. 2 and designated in general by the reference character 14. Each section 14 comprises 'a core piece 15 which may be easilly withdrawn from the section by any suitab e mechanical means. In Fig. 2, the manner in which the core piece 15 is withdrawn from the section 14 is indicated by'dotted lines. It is readily understood that after the core piece 15 has been removed from the section 14, the section forms a sleeve 11 which may be employed to insulate electri- 4 cal conductors and the like. In accordance with the features of the im- In practice the coating 13 is preferably formed upon a core whic is slightly larger in diameter than the electrical conductors uponwhich the resulting sleeves 11 are to be used. This...permits the sleeve to be quickly placed upon the conductor and also prevents mjury to the sleeve when the conductor is forced therethrough.

rDue to the reinforcement of the coating by the core during the severing operation the ends of the coating are not collapsed or otherwise deformed so that the resultant sleeve may be readily passed over the end of the conductor. Furthermore, since the core pieces, may be retained within the sections until the sleeves are to be placed upon the conductors, the sleeves do not become deformed during handling, packing or storage thereof.

Referring to Fig. 9, 115 designates a sleeve embodying another form of the invention and preferably formed of paper which has been partially fabricated upon a plurality of cores in strand form, the cores being subsequently removed from the paper. The paper is preferably applied to the cores by the method described in Patent 1,615,395 to J. S. Little, issued January 25, 1927. This method ma be practiced by the apparatus shown in igs. 7 and 8, the grooved rollers 70vbeing adjusted to uide two cores 12 to each foraminous portions 27 on the drum 16. A ribbon 116 of wet pulp is applied to each pair of cores 12 as they travel around t e drum 16, the ribbons 116 appearing substantially as shown in Fig. 10. The felt covered roll 76' co-acts with the belt 75 and the drum 16 to remove excess moisture from each ribbon 116 and to impart to the ribbon the form shown in Fig. 11. The ribbon 116 with its pair of cores 12 is then advanced through one of the form ing mechanisms 90 which wraps the ribbon around itself and around the cores in the manner illustrated in Fig. 12. the fully formed coating beingshown at-117 in Fig. 13. Preferably, the coating 117 is attached to the cores 12 solely by an intermingling of the fibers thereof. It is dried in the housing in the manner above described after which the coated cores are wound upon one of the'take-up spools 109. According to the section 14 but comprising a plurality of core pieces havin a common coatin' of paper, The core pieces are withdrawn irorn each section after which the section: constitutes a sleeve 115.

What is claimed is: r

1. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying moist pulp to :1V continuous elongated flexible strand, severing the pulp coated strand into a plurality of sections, and withdrawing the strand from the individual sections.

2. A method of formin .a tubular article, which consists in applying a ribbon of moist pulp to a flexible strand, forming the ribbon into a homogeneous coating for'the strand conforming with the shape thereof, and then withdrawing the strand.

- 3. A method of forming a tubular arti-J cle, which consists in applying a ribbon of moist pulp to a strand in such manner that it projects from opposite sides of the strand, forming the ribbon into a homogeneous coating for the strand, and then withdraw ing the strand.

4. A method of forming a tubular article,

which consists in applying a ribbon of moist v pulp to a strandin such manner that it projects from opposite sides of the strand, wrapping the ribbon around the strand, and then withdrawing the strand.

5. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying a-ribbon of moist pulp to a strand in such manner that it is.

attached to-the strand solely by an intermingling of the fibers thereof, and so that it projects trom opposite sides of the strand, wrappin the ribbon around the strand, and then wit' drawing the strand.

6. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying a coating of pulp to a core, severing the coated core to form an isolated section, and withdrawing the core from the section.

7. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying a coating of moist pulp to a core in strand form, removing excess moisture from the coatin cutting the coated core into sections, and t en removing the core from one of the sections.

8. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in wrapping a ribbon of moist pulp around a core in strand form, removing excess moisture from the pulp, cutting the core with the pulp applied thereto in sec-- tions, and removing the core from one of the sections. 9. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying unfinished paper to a core, completing the fabrication of the paper on the core in such manner that it forms a coating for the core, cutting the coated core into sections, and then removing the core pieces from the different sections.

10. A method of forming a tubular arti tantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core and in such manner that pulp is deposited on the core, drying the pulp so deposited, and then withdrawing the core from the pulp.

11. A method "of forming a tubular arti cle, which consists in causing relative movement between a core strand form and liquid containing pulp in a direction substahtially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the .core and in such manner that pulp is deposited on the core, forming the pulp into a uniform coating for the core, [and then withdrawing the core from the coating.

12. A method of .forming a tubular article, which consists in causing relative movement between .a core in strand -formand liquid containing pulp in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core and in such manner'that pulp is deposited on the core, wrappin the pulp around the core, and then with raw-ing the core from the pulp.

13. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying a common coating of pulp to a plurality of spaced continuous elongated flexible cores,-severing the coated cores into a plurality ofsections,and then withdrawing the cores from the individual sections.

let. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying acommon coating of pulp to a plurality of spaced cores, severing the coated cores into a plurality of sections, and then withdrawing one of the continuous elongated flexible cores from the individual sections.

15. Amethod of formin a tubular article, which consists in app ying moist pulp to a plurality of continuous-elongated flexible cores, forming the pulp. into a common coating for the cores, severing the coated cores into a plurality of sections, and then withdrawing the cores from the individual sections.

16. A method of formin a tubular article, which consists in app ying moist fulp to a plurality of continuous elongated flex1- ble cores held in spaced relation with each other, forming the pulp into a common coattormingthe ribbon into a-coating common 7 to the cores and adapted to hold the cores in spaced relation, and then. removing the cores from the coating.

18. A method of formin atubular farticle, which consists in app ying a"com'm on coating of pulp to a pluralityof spaced cores, severing the coated cores to form an isolated section, and thenremoving the core pieces from the section'.

19. A method of formin a tubular article, which consists in app yin'g a common coating of 'pulp to a plurality of spaced cores, severing 'the coated cores to form an isolated section, and then withdrawing one 7 of the cores fromt-he'section.

section, and removing thecore pieces from the section.

21. A method of forming a tubular arti-f cle, which consists in applying moist pulp to a plurality of flexible strands, forming the pulp into a coating common to the strands and adapted to hold the strands in spaced relation, severing the coated strands to form an isolated section, and removing the strand pieces from the section.

22. A method of forming a tubular article, which consists in applying unfinished paper to a plurality of spaced cores, completing the fabrication of the paper upon the cores to form a common coating therefor, severing the coated cores to form an isolated section, and removing the core pieces from the isolated section.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 24th day of September, A. D.

CLEM H. FRANKS. 

